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Libraries · Montréal

Bibliothèque DIRA logs 6.5 visits per person served, more than 84% of Quebec’s town libraries

The 1,948,747 people Bibliothèque DIRA serves have 66 branches to choose from. The figures come from Quebec’s public library statistics for 2025, as the library filed them.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Visits a year
12,648,282
6.5 per person served
Libraries
66
Charities
3,830
2 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

What a civic life grade would weigh in Montréal

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Montréal’s overall grade.
–Library visits6.5 per resident · Quebec towns 6.5–Charities2 per 1,000 · Quebec towns 1.4 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering25.2% of residents · all of Quebec, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

3,830 registered charities give a Montréal mailing address

That is 2 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Quebec town and 1.4 across Canada. Counting by mailing address favors a service town, where the surrounding area’s charities get their mail, over the suburbs and countryside around it.

Volunteering

25.2%

In 2023, 25.2% of people in Quebec volunteered formally: one estimate for the whole province, likely between 24.0% and 26.4%, in a range of 25.2% to 40.3% across the ten provinces.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

A year at the library

Some 34,653 visits on an average day

Everything counted at Bibliothèque DIRA in 2025: visits, loans and cards.

12,648,282
in-person visits
6.5 per person served
Every week243,236visits
1,948,747 people served
The libraries

Montréal’s 66 public libraries

Nearest first, measured in a straight line from the centre of Montréal.

0.9kmBibliothèque de Parc-ExtensionWebsite →1.2kmBibliothèque Le PrevostWebsite →1.6kmBibliothèque Marc-FavreauWebsite →1.8kmBibliothèque Mordecai-RichlerWebsite →1.9kmBibliothèque Robert-BourassaWebsite →2.2kmBibliothèque de La Petite-PatrieWebsite →2.5kmBibliothèque de la Danse Vincent-WarrenWebsite →2.8kmBibliothèque Nationale Du QuébecDirections →2.9kmBibliothèque du Plateau-Mont-RoyalWebsite →3.2kmBibliothèque Louise-Lalonde-LamarreWebsite →3.4kmBibliothèque de HEC MontréalWebsite →3.4kmBibliothèque de Saint-MichelWebsite →3.4kmBibliothèque de RosemontWebsite →3.7kmBibliothèque InterculturelleBibliothèques de MontréalWebsite →4.2kmBibliothèque Hélène-CharbonneauWebsite →4.2kmBibliothèque de Côte-des-NeigesWebsite →4.4kmBibliothèque Père-AmbroiseWebsite →4.4kmBibliothèque à livres ouvertsWebsite →4.6kmSchulich Library of Science and EngineeringDirections →4.6kmBibliothèque DIRAWebsite →4.7kmHumanities and Social Sciences LibraryDirections →4.8kmGrande BibliothèqueDirections →4.8kmMédiathèque Guy-L.-CotéWebsite →5.1kmBibliothèque centrale (UQAM)Website →5.1kmBibliotheque Des Jeunes De MontréalDirections →5.1kmBibliothèque R.-Howard-WebsterWebsite →5.1kmBibliothèque FrontenacWebsite →5.1kmBibliothèque du Vieux-Saint-LaurentWebsite →5.1kmBibliothèque publique juiveDirections →5.3kmBibliothèque Des Jeunes De MontréalDirections →5.4kmBibliotheque du JardinDirections →5.7kmBibliothèque d'HochelagaWebsite →5.7kmBibliothèque BellevileWebsite →6.1kmBibliothèque de Saint-LéonardWebsite →6.3kmBibliothèque MaisonneuveDirections →6.4kmBibliothèque de Notre-Dame-de-GrâceWebsite →6.4kmBibliothèque Réjean-DucharmeWebsite →6.7kmBibliothèque De SalaberryWebsite →7.1kmBibliothèque de CharleroiWebsite →7.1kmBibliothèque de Saint-HenriWebsite →7.3kmBibliothèque Saint-CharlesWebsite →7.5kmBibliothèque De CartiervilleDirections →7.5kmBibliothèque BennyWebsite →7.6kmBibliothèque du BoiséWebsite →7.7kmBibliothèque de CartiervilleWebsite →7.8kmBibliothèque LangelierWebsite →7.9kmBibliothèque Henri-BourassaWebsite →8.2kmBibliothèque du Haut-AnjouWebsite →8.4kmVanier Library (VL)Website →8.6kmBibliothèque Marie-UguayWebsite →9kmBibliothèque Jean-CorbeilWebsite →9kmBibliothèque de Plage de VerdunWebsite →9.2kmBibliothèque Julio-Jean-PierreWebsite →9.9kmBibliothèque Jacqueline-de-RepentignyWebsite →10kmBibliothèque de MercierWebsite →10kmBibliothèque de Saint-PierreWebsite →10kmBibliothèque de l'Île des soeursWebsite →11kmBibliothèque Saul-BellowDirections →11kmBibliothèque l'OctogoneDirections →12kmBibliothèque Saul-BellowWebsite →12kmBibliothèque L’OctogoneWebsite →13kmBibliothèque de Rivière-des-PrairiesWebsite →16kmBibliothèque de RoxboroWebsite →18kmBibliothèque Serge-BouchardWebsite →18kmBibliothèque de PierrefondsWebsite →21kmBibliothèque Éliane-LabastrouWebsite →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Visits count everyone. Tourists, commuters and neighbours all add to the visits, and nobody records which of them live in Montréal.

Questions about the library and civic life in Montréal

Does Montréal have a public library?

Yes, 66: Bibliothèque à livres ouverts, Bibliothèque Bellevile, Bibliothèque Benny, Bibliothèque centrale (UQAM) and 62 more.

How busy is Bibliothèque DIRA?

It counted 12,648,282 in-person visits in 2025.

Library statistics: Statistiques des bibliothèques publiques du Québec, 2025. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).